Home | News, Events, & Opportunities | News

Knowledge is Power: ESPP Student Educates the Next Generation on Climate Change

Contact: Jessica A. Knoblauch, News Writer for Environmental Science and Policy Program: (517) 432-3823 or knoblau7@msu.edu

April 2, 2007

Climate change is happening right now. But though some people are already being affected by climate change, those currently in grade school will be most affected in the future. The children of today will be the decision-makers of tomorrow, and climate change means that there will certainly be some tough decisions to make.

Sara Parr, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Crops and Soil Sciences and ESPP specialization student, is one of eight fellows at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) participating in a project designed to help arm students with the tools and knowledge they will need to make informed decisions about climate change.

The KBS project is part of a national network of teaching sites funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Graduate Teaching Fellows in the K-12 Classroom (or GK-12) project began in 2006 and teams KBS graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in ecology with K-12 science teachers in rural districts near KBS.

One project goal is to improve the graduate students’ communication skills through interactions with teachers. “If you’re going to be informing people, especially those who don’t have a scientific background, you need to be able to communicate scientific ideas at a level that people can understand,” said Parr.

Another goal is to enrich science instruction in K-12 schools. During her two days a week at Plainwell Community Schools, Parr helps supplement the curriculum by providing additional knowledge and expertise to the classroom. “The teachers are very appreciative [of the fellows] because it allows them to plan activities that they normally wouldn’t have the time or scientific expertise to do,” said Parr.

Climate change is among the topics Parr teaches in both her middle and high school class. Though most of the students “know the gist” of what climate change is all about, one of the biggest struggles of teaching it is to get the kids to see the problem on a local scale. “Most of these kids were born in the 90s, so they’ve basically grown up hearing about climate change,” explained Parr. “But when they think about climate change they’re mostly thinking about polar bears, so bringing the issue to Michigan can be a challenge.”

Parr helps overcome that challenge by pointing out to students the local effects of climate change. One example she uses is the ski resorts in Michigan, whose business has been suffering due to a lack of snow. Since a lot of students ski over winter break, many of them see the effects of climate change first-hand without even realizing it. “Once you point it out, they get it,” said Parr. 

Another issue with teaching climate change is the inherent interdisciplinarity of the issue. “[As a teacher], you have to deal with the fact that even if you’re teaching about the scientific aspects of climate change, you have to teach a lot of other things so that the students can understand the whole issue,” said Parr.

In addition to teaching the students, the fellows will be holding a workshop in April to help teachers get more information and ideas on how to teach this issue. “It’s useful to arm the teachers with enough knowledge that they have a better handle on the issue,” said Parr.

Parr said that the experience has helped her to learn more about climate change and how to better explain it.  “Students always want to know why something happens,” she said. “Explaining the “why” forces you to think about things and re-educate yourself.”